XII - Italy and the World Economy since Unificationedited by Gianni Toniolo

The book provides a «new economic history» of Italy that brings together the contributions of internationally renowned economists and economic historians to the research project promoted by the Bank of Italy to celebrate the 150^th anniversary of the country's unification. Most of the chapters are the result of the cooperation between Italian and foreign scholars. The book offers insights for the interpretation of both past and present features of the Italian economy. By giving a comprehensive view of the successes and failures of Italian firms and workers and of the public action taken in response to the challenges of the international economic cycle, the book draws up the reasons of the current unsatisfactory response of the Italian economy to the «second globalization». The historical perspective is essential for an understanding of today's weaknesses, such as the North-South gap, the low level of human capital, the fragile innovation system and the inefficiency of the public administration. The last twenty years of stagnation have ancient roots; the recent economic shocks have aggravated unresolved problems.